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LA ARTCORE
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LA Artcore evolved out of the social and artistic interactions of students at Cal State LA’s fine arts department, under the tutelage of Founding Director Lydia Takeshita during the 1960s and 1970s. Regular gatherings were held at Central Park in Pasadena, to further engage in critiques and discussion outside of class. This became the "core" of LA Artcore and manifested into a student-run space at Cal State University. This activity coincided with Downtown L.A.’s fine arts renaissance of the late, 80’s and early 90s in what is now the Arts District, where LA Artcore relocated on San Mateo street and incorporated as a 501-c 3 nonprofit corporation in 1981. LA Artcore produced numerous exhibits along with its in-house publication, Visions Art Quarterly which covered local and regional artists and exhibits until 1991.
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At the same time, LA Artcore established its International Exchange Program and enjoyed partnerships with artists, Kamol Tassananchalee, Yoshio Ikezaki, and Nobu Kano. This collaborative exchange that has been on covid-related pause, allows artists to travel and exhibit in a foreign hosting country. LA Artcore has conducted exchange programs with Thailand, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Italy, San Luis Obispo, and Albuquerque.
In addition to its Downtown space, LA Artcore opened its second space in 1998 at the Brewery Arts Colony, the country’s largest artist's live-work complex.
In 1993, with help from the City of L.A., the Little Tokyo Service Center administered the redevelopment of a church building at 120 Judge John Aiso St. into a multi-use arts complex where LA Artcore, East West Players, and Visual Communications currently reside.
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With over 1600 exhibits in its exhibition history, LA Artcore maintains a schedule of at least twelve exhibits per year across its two spaces and conducts related artist receptions, group tours, and workshops.
With the passing of its Founder and Director, Lydia Takeshita at the age of 92 in 2019, Artcore's board of directors reconstituted the organization and tasked its leadership to current Executive Director, Pranay Reddy, who had grown within the organization since 2006. Reddy has since recalibrated the organization with a progressive arts vision that combines boundary-breaking artistic expression with community arts youth arts programming and adult arts education.
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We are generously supported by the California Arts Council and the Kaman Foundation
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De:Formal
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Founded In 2015, NYC
De:Formal is an artists-run online platform dedicated to promoting critical conversations in contemporary art. We present emerging artists who work with video, performance, installation, sculpture, media art and other forms under-recognized in the conventional gallery system. We conduct artist interviews, curate online and offline exhibitions, and host monthly virtual residencies.
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"Companions in Misfortunes" is a collaborative screening project with De:Formal and LA Artcore.
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